The Best Climber
by Zacheriah
Summary: Roy and Johnny head out of LA for some training with the park rangers. What could possibly go wrong?


Disclaimer, This is a piece of fanfiction, written for pleasure and not profit. The Character's of Roy DeSoto, Johnny Gage and certain elements of the backstory belong to someone else and I am only borrowing them. I promise to be good and put them back when I've finished.

This was written for the **Sierra – Emergency! Fiction Challenge**

If you look on the web you can find stills from the Emergency/ Sierra crossover. One shows Roy lying injured on the ground and Gage nowhere in sight. The challenge was to explain the events that led up to and after the photograph.

Synopsis: Roy and Johnny go out of LA for some training with the park rangers. What could possibly go wrong?

**The Best Climber**

The pilot looked at the map, his vision blurring slightly. Cursing himself for getting drunk again, he checked the coordinates and the position he'd penciled in himself on the map. This was the spot, although why they had chosen rough country like this he couldn't fathom. If it was him, he'd have chosen somewhere flat for the drop site. Oh well, he had his instructions. He pulled the release lever and the package dropped, the small brightly coloured parachute opening out as it fell away from the plane.

Floating down gently into the rapidly fading sunlight, the colours seemed to dim, it dropped evenly until it met the cliff face, then the parachute flattened against the rough rock and suddenly the descent was quicker, the package now plummeting as the material folded, and then just as abruptly it stopped. The material caught on a bush, the lines snagging on the branches, and the package snapped back sharply as the ropes became taut. Part of it ripped, a fine dusting of white powder blew off into the air, and then everything was still.

--

"Man this is gonna be great," Johnny stated for what must have been the fiftieth time since the exchange program had been announced, but thankfully for the first time since they had set out on the drive from LA that morning.

Roy resisted the urge to let his eyes roll up into his head at the comment that he had known was only a matter of time in coming. Instead he favoured his partner and friend with his best long suffering look.

Johnny turned towards Roy for just a moment and caught the look. "What?" he asked, focusing his attention back on the road in front of him. "You don't think it's gonna be?"

Roy didn't even bother coming up with a reply, he knew that Johnny was just pausing for breath, not waiting for him to answer. Not that he even bothered with things as essential as air sometimes, at least not once he got going.

"I mean, fresh air, mountains, spectacular views, what's not to love, it'll be more like being on vacation than it will be work, and best of all we're getting paid to take part." There was a short pause and Roy found himself smiling at the way Johnny was almost bouncing in his seat, sometimes Johnny reminded him so much of his two children, the tension of barely contained excitement held all of the enthusiasm of youth. "And the Ranger I spoke to on the phone sounded real friendly." He looked up wistfully, "Julie, did I tell ya she was called Julie?" Gage turned to look at his partner once more as he voiced the question, but again did not really give him chance to reply. "She had a real pretty voice, sounded almost. . ." he searched for the right word, "lyrical, that's it, she sounded almost lyrical. . . are you all right?"

Roy hadn't been able to contain the snort of laughter at his friend's use of language, somehow he just wasn't expecting Johnny to be so descriptive. He tried to turn it into a cough, so it wouldn't be so obvious but the slightly strangled action caused him to aspirate some saliva and turned it into a real coughing fit. "Fine," he managed to get out as soon as he got the coughing under control, and he reached down for the bottle of water under his seat.

"You sure?" Johnny asked, the bouncing child replaced by a serious adult, a slight hint of concern in his tone.

Roy took a deep breath, "Yeah, just breathed when I should've swallowed," he said, taking a swig of water from the bottle to calm his irritated throat.

"Yeah well you take it easy, we're representing the whole of the LA county Fire Department and it wouldn't be good for us to turn up with one of us looking sickly." He looked at his partner again. "You sure you're not coming down with something?"

Roy was tempted for a moment to tell Johnny the real reason for his coughing fit. "No, I'm not coming down with anything, I told you I'm fine."

"Well, that's good, cause if you were. . ."

"I'm not," Roy stated again.

"Well good but I was just saying. . ." Roy wondered for a moment just how long it would take to reassure his partner, when thankfully something caught Johnny's eye.

"Do you see that woman up ahead, it looks like she might be hurt." Johnny stated, interrupting his own train of thought.

Roy allowed his gaze to follow the direction Johnny was pointing and sure enough there was a young woman trying to move down the road with such a heavy limp that she was almost hopping. She was using a large branch as a walking stick, both men followed her movements until they had pulled the Rover past her. Stopping the engine Johnny jumped out to see if he could help.

The young woman stopped, relieved as the Rover pulled to a halt just in front of her.

"Here Miss, you look like you need a hand." Johnny said as he moved to help support her.

"Thank you," the young woman replied, allowing Johnny to take some of her weight and guide her over to sit on the running board of the Rover.

Johnny dropped onto one knee so that he could get a good look at the obviously swollen ankle. "OK, lets see if we can't get a proper look at this."

"My, are you always this forward," the woman asked as Johnny reached for her ankle.

It took Johnny a moment to realise what he had done, automatically dropping into paramedic mode at the sight of the injury, he had taken for granted that she would know who he was and what he was doing, after all most of the people they helped had called for them and he was usually wearing an easily identified uniform. He looked down at the plaid shirt and jeans that he was actually wearing, it didn't carry the same message at all. "No Ma'am," he said smiling up at her through the hair that had fallen onto his forehead. "I'm a fireman paramedic with the LA County Fire Department and this here," he pointed at Roy, who had retrieved the first aid kit from the rear of the Rover before joining them. "is my partner, and if you'll let me I'll take a look at that ankle and see if there is anything we can do for you."

"Oh," the young woman said, flashing them both a smile. "I guess that's all right then. My name's Sarah, Sarah Black."

"Roy Desoto," Roy continued the introductions as Johnny's attention had dropped back to the injury, "and John Gage, pleased to meet you."

Johnny carefully removed Sarah's shoe and gently moved his hands over the injury, skillfully checking for signs of problems. He looked up "Well, it doesn't look like it's broken, probably just a bad sprain." He turned to look at Roy. "We'd better splint it, it'll need to be X-rayed."

Roy nodded, pulling the required items from the first aid kit. Ten minutes later Sarah's ankle had been immobilized and she was sitting between the two paramedics as they continued their journey.

". . . So, my friend April headed off to the Ranger Station, it's only about a mile from here, to get help. I was supposed to sit and wait for her to get back but I got kinda bored so I thought I'd make a start on getting myself there. Thanks for stopping to help me, it was getting a little difficult."

"No problem," Johnny stated, "We were heading to the Ranger Station anyway, this is sort of a working vacation for us, we're up here to practice some of our skills, climbing, abseiling and the like and to share some of the techniques we've learnt as paramedics."

"Sounds like you two have really interesting jobs," Sarah stated.

Roy did his best to hold back a sigh. That was just the sort of opening his partner needed to start recanting tales of their past exploits to his captive audience, it wasn't that Roy minded, he just wished that he wasn't part of that audience. In his efforts to control the sound, he ended up having another coughing fit.

Johnny paused from what he was about to say, "You know we really oughta get you something for that cough."

"I'm fine." Roy stated, "Hey isn't that one of the Park Rangers." He indicated the vehicle that was heading for them on the opposite side of the road, grateful once again for the distraction. "You'd better try and get their attention, let them know that we've picked Sarah here, up."

Johnny nodded and began flashing his headlights at the oncoming vehicle, which slowed to a stop next to them. The introductions and explanations took a few minutes as Johnny finally put a face to the voice of Ranger Julie Barnes and her partner Ranger Tim Boyd. It was quickly agreed that Johnny and Roy would follow the Rangers to the local clinic where Sarah's ankle could be checked out, and then they could guide them to the Lodge where they were all staying. Since Johnny and Roy had been due to spend some time getting acquainted with the Rangers anyway, it made more sense for them to do it whilst they were waiting at the clinic than for them to sit and wait for them to get back to the Ranger station. After half an hours discussion, in the clinic's break room the four had shared the basics of their backgrounds, and discovered that the quality of hospital coffee had nothing to do with the size of the establishment, both Roy and Johnny had commented on how much better it was than the coffee they could get at Rampart.

--

They arrived at the Lodge reception area just before six, directly on schedule despite their detour. As Johnny had predicted Sarah's ankle had been diagnosed as sprained not broken and she had been supplied with crutches and painkillers before being released.

"Well thanks for all of your help," Sarah stated, turning to flash Johnny with a bright smile whilst her friend April collected the keys to their room.

"Anytime," Johnny said returning the smile, "and if you have any problems with that ankle be sure to let us know."

"Oh, I will," Sarah replied the smile positively beaming, the comment holding promises of further contact.

April returned at that point and added her thanks before the two women headed off for their rooms. Johnny turned his attention and his smile to the two Rangers.

"I'd like to add our thanks for your help." Julie said.

"We didn't do much," Roy stated

"Yeah, thankfully it was only a minor injury," Johnny added.

"Well out here you'll find that nothing is ever minor. As you move further into the park and away from civilization, even minor problems can turn into major ones, but you'll find that out for yourselves over the next few days."

"Looking forward to it," Johnny stated, his grin returning

"Good," Julie's smile, rivaled the one Sarah had given him moments earlier, "See you bright and early tomorrow then."

"Bright and early," Johnny repeated, nodding.

The two Rangers said their goodbyes leaving Johnny standing and grinning as he waved them off. He was still smiling five minutes later when Roy returned from checking them in.

It took him several moments before Johnny realised that Roy was back, he turned to see his partner watching him. "What?"

Roy ignored the question. "So which one are you gonna ask out?" he asked, his expression bordering on a smirk, Johnny looked like a kid locked in a sweet shop.

Johnny looked first to the stairs, where Sarah and April had headed off to their rooms and then towards the doors where the Rangers had departed, he didn't bother asking Roy how he had known what he was thinking, they had been partners for too long. Still that didn't mean he was going to admit it. He looked back at Roy, an expression of innocence personified. "What makes you think I was gonna ask either of them?"

Roy folded his arm across his chest and raised one eyebrow, letting his partner know he couldn't be fooled. "I know you," he stated.

Johnny smiled back picking up his bags, "Well Sarah is kinda cute, but Julie seems real smart."

"So the jury's still out huh?" Roy picked up his own bag.

"Let's just say I need to do a little more research." Johnny headed for their rooms.

Roy shook his head, when it came to women there was only one way to describe his partner, incorrigible.

--

Johnny gazed around the dining room while he waited for Roy to choose his meal, he spotted April and Sarah at a table on the other side of the room but, they were both sitting at an angle to him so they would have had to turn sideways to spot him, he spent a couple of minutes watching, until he figured that they were so engrossed in conversation that they were unlikely to look at him, with no opportunity to practice the patent Gage crooked grin, he decided to concentrate on studying the other guests.

There was a miscellaneous selection, a family of five, a middle aged couple, two younger couples who sat together as a group and what looked like a group of students, Three male two female, none of them held Johnny's attention for very long, they were all very ordinary, but the last table he looked at seemed out of place. He couldn't put his finger on why, maybe it was the tension at the table when everyone else in the room looked happy and relaxed, maybe it was the clothing, the two men wore suits which seemed out of place even for dinner in the relaxed surroundings of the Lodge, or maybe it was the cruel looking scowl on the face of the older of the three, a man who looked to be in his late forties. Johnny wasn't sure why but he got the feeling that something wasn't 'right' about them.

"I think I'll have the chicken," Roy said, finally lowering his menu. He looked across to his partner who took a moment to answer.

"What?" Johnny asked when he managed to draw his mind away from his speculation and realised that he didn't have a clue what Roy had just said.

"I said, I think I'll have the chicken, what are you going for?"

"Huh," Johnny replied distractedly, "Oh.. .I..er I think I'll have the steak." He barely glanced back at Roy as he spoke, still trying to figure what he found unsettling about the table to his right. He paused for a moment, "What do you suppose," he asked eying his partner briefly, "that those people have to be so all-fired uptight about."

Roy followed his partner's gaze and looked at the odd group at the table. The older of the two males seemed to exude an air of authority over his companions, who were visibly cowing under his intense gaze. He looked first at his female companion and then the male, clearly expecting some sort of response from them. They both attempted replies but he was clearly not happy with their efforts. Roy was glad that the icy gaze was not directed at him and turned away from it. Whatever was going on it was none of his business and he'd be happy to let it stay that way. "I dunno, some sort of business meeting?" he suggested.

"A Lodge in the middle of a National Park is kind of a strange place for that." Johnny stated, unable to tear his gaze away from the group despite the fact that he was now obviously staring.

"We've both seen stranger," Roy stated. "Anyways it's none of our business, so how's about getting back to ordering dinner, I'm starved." He waited a moment but got no response. "Hey junior," he said knowing that the nickname would provoke a reaction. It did, Johnny turned to look at him. "I said how about ordering dinner?"

Johnny had one last glance at the other table, still slightly unsettled but not sure why. "Well they sure look awful unhappy about something."

"Maybe one of them is deliberately delaying ordering food and they're starving," Roy suggested with just the right hint of sarcasm.

"Funny guy," Johnny half scowled, catching the attention of the waitress and beckoning her over. "It wasn't me who had to read through the description of every entrée before choosing the one that was first on the menu."

Roy was about to reply when the waitress arrived and Johnny's beaming smile appeared once again in response to the young woman's equally dazzling show of teeth.

Roy shook his head, incorrigible.

--

Oliver Tussot glared first at Angela and then at Jason, these were meant to be two of his best people and he was finding it hard to believe that they had screwed up so badly. First they had employed an incompetent drunken pilot, who'd managed to get the drop coordinates wrong. Then they'd ended up killing him in an effort to get him to tell them where he'd made the drop, when all that they had actually needed to do was search his plane where they would have found the clearly, if incorrectly, marked chart. Not that he really minded the pilot being killed, he had deserved it for his incompetence, but the kill should have been made to look like an accident and gunshot wounds were rarely treated as accidental. As if that wasn't enough, now they were telling him that he'd have to hike into the middle of nowhere to find the drop site and retrieve his property.

Angela made eye contact with Jason before looking back at her boss, she swallowed nervously. "Of course, you could stay here at the Lodge and we'll go out and search and report back when we find it."

"It should only take us a day, maybe two to locate it, the 'chute is fairly distinctive," Jason added, trying to sound confident. "Three days max and you'll have it."

Oliver's gaze hardened to stone, he stared his subordinates down, waiting until they both looked away, shifting uncomfortably in their seats. "Oh no," he stated icily, "you two have already cost me considerable time and money. I'm with you every step of the way now until we get back what's mine," he paused for effect, "or you die trying."

--

The next day passed without incident as the two Paramedics and the two Rangers worked together on various training exercises in and around the Ranger station. The third day looked like it was going to pass in the same informative and enjoyable fashion until the Ranger station got a call to rescue hiker who had fallen down a steep gully, close to where the four were training. Johnny and Julie were the first to arrive at the location, they had been split into pairs on an orienteering exercise when the call came in.

"OK," Julie stated, clicking off her radio. "The rescue team should be here in about half an hour, they'll be bringing a Stokes in with them, in the meantime one of us should go down and check him out." She peered over the edge before looking up at Johnny, "and since I'm the lighter of the two of us and that rock looks fairly loose. . ."

Johnny was used to being the first one down, or up for that matter on any rescues that involved a climb, but he'd learnt over the last couple of days not to underestimate the female ranger who stood next to him. As an ex-nurse her medical training was more extensive than his own and she had certainly proved herself to be an expert climber. He would also have a lot less trouble anchoring her than she would him, not that he doubted for a moment her ability to do so. He repressed his natural tendency to volunteer and nodded, looking around. "We can tie off on that tree there, make your way down and then move over to him when you get to the bottom, that way, if you do dislodge anything, it won't come down on him."

With a nod of agreement the two began sorting out their climbing equipment, by the time Roy and Tim arrived she had checked on the hiker's condition and reported back, he had a dislocated shoulder, broken left leg and probable concussion. Johnny reported the findings to Roy while preparing to go down to assist.

Not for the first time Tim noticed how the two Paramedics worked together with no verbal communication about what they were going to do, allowing them to concentrate their conversation on the sharing of other information. He guessed that was what working with someone for four years allowed, he only hoped he could build up a similar sort of rapport with his own partner. He looked down to see how she was doing and was rewarded with a brief smile before she focused her attention back on the injured hiker.

"We'll send down the Stokes as soon as it gets here," Roy stated as he anchored Johnny over the edge. The going was more difficult for him than it had been for Julie and he stumbled twice as loose rock broke off. When he got to the bottom, slightly flushed from the adrenaline rush the two slips had engendered, he couldn't keep himself from commenting. "You made it look easier than it was," he said, unclipping his belt from the line.

Julie smiled and shook her head, "No, I'm just used to climbing on the rock around here, a lot of it's loose like that, it can be a real hazard at times, catches out the most experienced climbers. You want to give me a hand with this splint."

Johnny moved into position to help and watched her deft movements as she handled the injured limb. Deciding now was the time to ask her the question that had been intriguing him since he'd found out about her past career. "So what made you give up nursing to become a Ranger?"

She looked up at him briefly with a thoughtful smile before concentrating her mind on the task at hand. "What, you mean beside the beautiful countryside, incredible views, fresh air and lack of pressure?" she asked.

Johnny smiled back. "I suppose when you put it that way it does make sense, but its still kind of an unusual career change, I mean giving up on all of that training. . ."

"All that training comes in kinda handy," Julie said, finishing off the splint, "but you're right I don't get to use what I learnt as much as I would if I still worked in a clinic or a hospital." She looked thoughtful again. "I guess I've always been the outdoors sort, went hiking and climbing at every available opportunity when I was growing up. I took up nursing because I like helping people but I never could get used to being stuck inside, and then this job came up. I guess it just gives me the best of both worlds."

Johnny looked up. "I hope the Stokes gets here soon, his colour doesn't look too good and his breathing seems to be getting shallower. What I wouldn't give for a drug box and a link to Rampart right now."

As if on cue Roy shouted down. "Stretcher's here, we'll lower it now. How's he doing?"

Johnny was already moving, "Not too good, the sooner we get him out of here the better."

--

Johnny and Roy walked into the Lodge two hours later, exhausted but happy. It had been a tough hike out with the stretcher to get the hiker to a clearing where a helicopter could land, but the airlift to hospital had been successful, and he was expected to make a full recovery. Both Paramedics were grateful that the long day was over.

Johnny took hold of their climbing gear while Roy went to the desk to get their keys. He was so busy concentrating on images of the hot shower that would ease his tired muscles that he didn't notice the three pairs of eyes that were watching him.

"There, my friends," Tussot said, "is the answer to our problem."

Jason and Angela looked at each other and then at their boss. "But they're here working with the Park Rangers," Jason ventured.

Tussot turned his gaze on his younger companion, who once again shrank from it. Jason Parks considered himself to be tough, you didn't survive in his line of work unless you were, but there was something in Tussot's eyes, a danger, an insanity, that made the blood run cold, he swallowed as Tussot spoke. "And your problem with that is?" he asked.

Jason glanced at Johnny who was handing Roy's share of the climbing gear back to him. "What if. . . " He looked back at Tussot. "What if they won't help us?"

"Oh, I'm sure that they can be persuaded to cooperate," Tussot stated, tapping the bulge under his coat.

Angela decided to voice her own concerns, "But they'll be able to identify us, they're sure to go straight to the Park Rangers. Wouldn't it be safer for us to find someone who'll take money to do the climb, no questions asked?"

Tussot shook his head, "That would take too long, besides you are assuming that we're going to leave them in a position where they can talk." He turned to watch Roy and Johnny disappear toward their room, a cold smile forming.

--

Johnny smiled brightly at his partner. "You do know," he said, looking first at the compass and then at the map and then back at his partner, "that Julie and I would've beaten you and Tim hands down yesterday if we hadn't been called away to that rescue."

"Huh huh," Roy said non-committally, looking down at the map.

Johnny looked up, taking the non response far more seriously than he would have a rebuttal. "We would, I bet we were way ahead."

"Whatever you say," Roy replied, keeping his focus on the map as he tried to pinpoint their position. He knew that it was pointless arguing, he could get just as far with his partner with far less effort if he just agreed with him.

"I mean we'd already reached the third checkpoint and I bet you weren't even at. . ."

"The fifth," Roy stated

"I mean. . ." it took a moment for Johnny to register what Roy had said, "What?"

Roy checked the compass one last time and looked up to be sure that he had his bearings. Then he looked his partner in the eye. "The fifth," he repeated, "We'd just made it past the fifth checkpoint." He pointed towards the trees. "It's this way," he stated confidently, moving off in the indicated direction.

Johnny was left, soundlessly mouthing 'the fifth,' to himself, the map and compass forgotten in his hands. How could Roy and Tim have gotten that far ahead of them, he was sure that he hadn't made any mistakes, Julie would have pointed them out if he had and they'd moved quickly across the terrain. .

"Johnny?"

Roy's call pulled him back from his musings, he looked up.

"You plan on standing there like that all day or are we going to try to make today's checkpoints on time?" Roy asked, trying hard to hide his smirk.

Johnny looked down at the map and compass, lowering his arms he began to follow his partner who moved off again. "Hey Roy?"

Roy stopped and turned.

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

--

They had been on the trail for less than an hour when they became aware that they were not alone, the terrain had opened out from forest to bare rock and they figured that they were close to one of the two climbs that they had been told would be on the route, the first one was going to be the easier of the two, since the contour lines indicated that it would be a descent. In this sort of country it was easy to spot other tourists, and there was a group of three hikers following the same path but about a quarter mile behind.

"Looks like we're not the only ones out enjoying the scenery," Roy remarked when they stopped for a water break and to admire the magnificent views across the rugged countryside.

Johnny followed his gaze and studied the group for a moment. "Hey, isn't that Mr. Uptight and his companions from the Lodge?" he asked, taking the water bottle gratefully. "Guess I was wrong about them not being up here to enjoy themselves."

"Guess so."

They were about to head off again, when a shout from behind drew them back. They turned to see one of the men from the group behind them on the ground, the other male had crouched beside him and the girl was waving her arms frantically and moving towards them. They did not need any more indication that their help was needed and they headed back as quickly as the rough ground would allow.

By the time they reached the girl she had calmed down a lot, Johnny was the first one there. "What happened, what's the problem?" he asked.

Angela, who had a handkerchief over her face, just let out a mock sob and pointed, towards the prone form, mumbling something incoherent.

Johnny figured that, although she was upset, she would be all right and he moved on. "OK can you tell me what happened?" he asked, moving to crouch by the man on the ground. He was startled when the man sat up and even more startled to realise that he had a gun in his hand. "What the. . ."

"Yes, I can tell you what happened," Tussot stated, "we had a little problem and you are going to help us to solve it."

Johnny tried to swallow down some of the fear that was ripping at his insides. He moved back from the gun, overbalancing from his crouched position, he sat down hard onto the bare rock, turning to see what had happened to his partner.

Roy had stopped just past the woman who seemed to have made a remarkable recovery and now held a gun on him, the third man also had a gun drawn, pointed directly at Johnny's head. Johnny made brief eye contact with his partner and saw his own fear reflected there.

"I suggest," Tussot said, "that you follow your friend's lead and raise your hands. In fact, why don't you join him over there." He flicked the end of his weapon in Roy's direction.

Johnny stood slowly, careful not to make any sharp movements, he raised his hands and stepped backwards, keeping his eyes on Tussot all the time as he moved to stand beside his partner. "What exactly do you want with us?" he asked.

"I told you we want your help. Let's say we need your expertise." Tussot answered as he stood himself. "Tell me which of the two of you is the better climber?"

Roy looked automatically at Johnny, who opened his mouth to reply before getting suspicious. "Why do you want to know?"

The unspoken communication, however, had been enough, "So it is you Mr. er.. .what is your name?"

"John, John Gage."

"So Mr. Gage, you are the better climber, yes?"

Johnny didn't see what he would gain by lying, if there was climbing to be done, he would rather it was him that was made to do it and not Roy. He glanced at his partner before replying. "I guess so, yes."

Tussot smiled and gave a slight nod. Before either Paramedic could acknowledge what was happening, Jason stepped forward behind Roy and brought the butt of his pistol down hard at the base of his unprotected skull.

Roy felt only the briefest flash of pain before his vision blackened and he slumped forward.

"Roy," Johnny cried, the anguish clear as he turned, catching the sharp movement of the impact. He did his best to grab his friend, managing to get his arms under him but his dead weight was too much as he was already falling, it was all he could do to control his descent to the ground. "Roy," he said again as he knelt with his partner in his arms, but there was no sign of any response. As gently as he could he turned and rolled him lowering him the rest of the way until his head was resting on a rock, gingerly he felt for damage, checking Roy's pupils for a response and monitoring his breathing.

Anxiety mixed with fear for his partner's safety as he realised the possible severity of the head wound, but both were overwhelmed by anger as he turned to face the men who had just hurt his friend. Tears welled in eyes that blazed with emotion. "Why?" he asked, the word forming almost breathlessly.

"Because I only need one of you," Tussot stated dispassionately. "It's always a problem keeping an eye on two people, too much of a risk even though the odds are in our favour."

"I won't help you," Johnny stated, "Not now, I won't help you." he repeated.

"Oh but you will." Tussot eyed him confidently, "because if you don't do exactly as I ask, I will put a bullet through your partner's brain." He changed the aim of his gun to point at Roy's head and drew back the hammer."

Johnny swallowed again, sweat beading on his forehead, "Okay," he said allowing the hatred to burn in his eyes for a moment, before his shoulders slumped in defeat. "What do you want me to do?"

--

Walking away from his injured partner was one of the hardest things that Johnny had ever had to do. He broke out in a cold sweat, all of the muscles in his abdomen seeming to tense at once, making standing almost impossible, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to do it. The only thing that was allowing him to function was the knowledge that he had no choice. There was no doubt in his mind that Tussot would follow through on his threat to shoot Roy if he didn't comply, one look into his eyes was enough to convince him of that. His companions seemed to have equally little regard for human life, and, although Roy's head injury was potentially life threatening, it wasn't as certain as a bullet. At least this way there was a chance that Roy would be found, that someone would get him help in time.

As he walked away almost oblivious to the direction he was being pushed, he tried to mentally calculate how long it would be before they would be missed. They were due at the first checkpoint in just over half an hour, but how late would they have to be before anyone figured there was something wrong, an hour, two? Did Roy have that much time? He stopped and turned to look at his partner one last time. "I'm sorry Roy," he whispered soundlessly, before his action was rewarded with a rough push from behind, causing him to stumble forward and turn as he tried to regain his balance.

"Keep moving or I may change my mind about leaving your friend alive," Tussot stated. "It's not to late to send Jason here back, or maybe Angela, I think maybe she would enjoy killing your friend."

Angela, who was walking in front of Johnny, turned to look at him, grinning at the idea, as though she had just been offered a prize. She really looked as if she would enjoy it, Johnny swallowed down the bile that accompanied the thought, and turned his gaze toward the ground, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and nothing else. If he wanted to give Roy any chance at all then he needed to get these people away from him. He picked up his pace.

--

Johnny looked down over the edge of the cliff to the ledge below and the brightly coloured parachute that he was expected to retrieve, then he surveyed the cliff top. The ledge was about fifty feet down and reasonably wide, getting to it would be fairly straightforward, the problem was that there was nothing to really tie off on at the top of the cliff, and that meant relying on the three people who currently held him at gunpoint to take his safety line. He looked at each of them in turn and then back at the drop. Under normal circumstances a climb like this would hold no fear for him, but these circumstances were far from normal, his stomach muscles tensed once again as he swallowed hard.

"So what's the hold-up?" Tussot asked, getting impatient with Johnny's lack of movement.

Johnny looked him in the eye. "I'm just figuring out the best way to get down there in one piece. 'cos if I fall then you aren't going to be getting your package back, are you?" he asked with a confident tone that belied his anxiety. A small part of his brain was screaming at him not to upset the people who held him at gunpoint, but a stronger part of him was fuelled by the anger at what these people had done to Roy, at being forced to help them when it was his friend he should be helping.

"OK," he finally said, pulling the rope off his shoulder, he looked first at Angela and then at Jason, "but I'm going to need the two of you to help me."

They both looked toward Tussot for permission, Johnny followed their gaze. A slight nod was all that was needed and Johnny had their cooperation.

When all the ropes had been set, Johnny explained carefully what he needed Jason and Angela to do. He went through it twice and would have tried for a third time if he hadn't spotted the dangerously impatient look in Tussot's eyes. He moved hesitantly to the cliff edge, both Angela and Jason were bracing the rope as he had told them, but he was all too well aware that he was about to trust his life to people who didn't really know what they were doing. He took a deep breath as he leant his weight on to the rope and then stepped backwards off the cliff. For one stomach lurching moment it felt as though the rope were slipping and then it held firm, with a silent prayer Johnny carefully began his descent.

There was only one slight slip as Johnny made his way down, he hit a patch of loose rock and his foot slid off the surface but he quickly regained his footing,

He breathed a huge sigh of relief when he finally set foot on the ledge and took a moment to catch his breath. He knew he wasn't breathing heavily from the exertion, that had been fairly minimal, so he guessed the pounding in his chest must have more to do with the stress of the situation than the physical effort. It was a sprinkling of rock from above, peppering his face painfully that reminded him of his unfriendly companions. He waited for it to pass, spitting the accompanying dust from his mouth and wiping his eyes before shouting up, "Hey take it easy up there."

"The package, Mr. Gage, get the package, or I will have to send someone back to check on the health of your friend."

Once again the threat to Roy was enough to spur Johnny to action. He knew that for as long as he gave these people what they wanted, Roy would be safe, well, relatively speaking. Once again he tried to repress his knowledge of the complications that could arise from a head injury. Someone would find Roy soon, they would get him to help. All he could do was keep this group away from him. "Okay," he shouted back up, "I'm getting it."

He moved over to the bush and began to pull at the tangled parachute threads.

--

Roy blinked bleary eyes open, shutting them quickly as an intense pain accompanied the bright flash, He pulled one arm up awkwardly, taking two attempts to position it over his face in an attempt to shield some of the brightness. Tentatively he forced his eyes open again with a little more success. He blinked and waited for the blurry mess of colours to resolve themselves as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened to him. He lifted his head slightly and instantly regretted it as a spike of pain shot down his spine, before radiating though his head like the vibrations from a ringing bell. He lay back and swallowed down the accompanying nausea. Waiting for the pain to abate a little, he considered his position. He was outside and apparently alone. What had happened? He thought back to the last thing he could remember. He had been with Johnny, they had been moving through the forest following a map and then. . . There was nothing beyond that, but where was Johnny, had he left him here to go for help? Had something happened to him?

Gathering his strength and moving as slowly and carefully as he could Roy tried to sit up, he made it half way before the world spiraled into a dizzying blackness and he slumped back on to the rock behind him.

--

Johnny finished tying the damaged package onto the rope and gave it a tug to indicate that it was ready to pull up. Once he had seen the fine white powder, he had felt an even stronger revulsion that he was helping these people, and for a moment he considered tossing it into the valley below, but he knew that would mean certain death for his partner and he just could not bring himself to be responsible for that. Instead he did not take too much care as he handled it, figuring that even if only a little blew away in the wind, at least it was a little less that ended up in someone's veins.

He watched as the package was hauled up and waited for them to send the rope back down for him. There was a certain naivety in the expectation that was fundamental to Johnny's world view, the thinking of his abductors was so far away from his own that it did not occur to him that since they no longer had a use for him they were unlikely to help him further. In fact just the opposite, they were now liable to want to get rid of him. It wasn't until the rock dust began to fall that Johnny realised his mistake. The pieces or rock tumbling from above gradually got bigger and Johnny dropped to the ground, flattening himself against the cliff face in an effort to protect himself as pieces struck painfully and bounced off, tumbling over the ledge.

--

Johnny lay as still as he could, not even breathing deeply. Some illogical part of his mind told him that if he could just lay perfectly still then he wouldn't be hurt, because at that moment he could not feel any pain only a comforting darkness, a pool of still and quiet after the roar and chaos of the falling rock. He lay there for a moment more, allowing the illusion.

He knew that it couldn't last, he shifted slightly and felt a twinge from his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, he forced unwilling muscles to move, shaking rock and dust from his torso as he made it to his knees. Coughing as he inhaled more dust, he assessed his condition, moving each joint tentatively, he realised that he had been lucky, probably a lot of bruising, down his back and shoulder but nothing serious. He wiped the dust from his eyes and attempted to clear a space on the ledge where he could sit and consider his next move.

He looked up warily, mindful that his tormentors might try something else, but there was only silence from above. He would have to assume that now they had what they wanted they had left. If they hadn't then there would be nothing he could do about it anyway. He looked up at the rock face, studying its contours and then looked down at the hundred or so feet that was below the ledge he was on. Going up was the easier of the options, not that either was easy. In fact a free climb, no ropes, alone on loose rock was close to suicidal, but what else could he do? Sit here and wait for rescue. He might have considered it if it hadn't been for his injured partner. Roy needed his help and he had to try, whatever the risks. He stood up and began studying the rock more carefully looking for foot and handholds and a way to the top.

--

Julie looked at her watch and then to her partner. "They're over an hour late." she stated, a worried tone in her voice. "When we were on the exercise yesterday, Johnny was pretty good at keeping on track, they shouldn't be taking this long."

Tim nodded his agreement. "Roy was pretty hot too, I would've expected them to make the checkpoint early if anything."

"So what do you think? Do you think there's something wrong? Should we head off looking for them?"

Tim was thoughtful for a moment. "It'll be a little embarrassing if they've just taken a wrong turn somewhere. On the other hand. . .if something has happened then the sooner we find them the better."

"So we go?" Julie asked.

"We go," Tim agreed, lifting his radio to report in their intentions.

--

Johnny was twelve feet above the ledge when he felt the rock under his latest handhold begin to give, frantically he scrabbled to the side to try to get a grip on firmer rock but it was no use, his balance was gone and he began to slip down, doing his best to stay close to the rock he twisted as he fell, slamming into the ledge on his left side, he began to roll but forced himself back viscously twisting his muscles to avoid rolling off the ledge, his entire side exploding in a white hot sheet of pain.

He rolled onto his stomach, almost kissing the ledge in gratitude for its presence. For a moment he had been sure that he was going to die, that he would bounce down the cliff, not stopping until that one final impact tore his insides apart. He drew in deep breaths, trying to counter the adrenaline rush of fear and the overwhelming pain as a mass of nerve endings cried out their protests at the abuse his body had suffered.

It was several minutes before he could trust himself to move again, taking great care to orient himself so that he moved towards the solid cliff face and not closer to the edge. Confused receptors gave conflicting information as his body reactively relived the fall over and over, his muscles tensing involuntarily at imaginary impacts.

With what was functioning of the rational part of his mind, he gradually brought his breathing under control, taking increasingly deeper breaths, he forced himself to relax, then carefully moved to a sitting position. His left arm seemed to scream at the slightest movement and he knew that it was broken, probably in more than one place. Other than that he seemed to have been lucky, if you could call a mass of bruising lucky. Still it was enough, a broken arm effectively eliminated any chance he had of helping himself, of helping Roy.

He tried hard to control the growing feelings of helplessness, of frustration, but too much had happened, the repeated jolts of adrenaline had left him near to exhaustion, added to that the almost overwhelming pain and he could not control the tears that welled in his eyes. He rubbed his right hand roughly across his face, growing angry with himself for giving in to the emotion, he would not sit here and blub, not while there were still things he could do. He looked across at the bush that had caught the parachute, he would need to break off a branch so that he could use it as a splint.

--

"Julie, over there," Tim shouted, pointing at the body just visible above the rock.

Julie followed his direction and spotted the figure herself as both Rangers picked up their pace. "Can you tell who it is?"

"Not from here," Tim shouted back, it was another fifty yards before he could answer her question. "I think it's Roy, you'd better call it in."

Julie nodded, pulling out her radio as they continued across the rock.

--

Johnny braced himself before pulling the parachute cord tight. He was holding one end in his teeth and was grateful to have something to bite down on as the searing pain grayed his vision and almost made him pass out. He released the grip from his teeth and sat back, panting heavily, sweat beading on his forehead. He gave himself a minute before he finished tying the makeshift knot that would secure the splint in place. Satisfied with his efforts he moved his arm to rest across his chest and shifted until he was comfortable leaning against the rock wall. He had earned a few minutes rest.

--

Roy's second return to consciousness was more comfortable than the first, although the pain from the glaring overhead lights was almost as painful, at least this time his head was resting on soft pillows and not hard rock. He was also not alone, even though he could not make out the features, he could see the outline of the face that was looking down at him.

"Welcome back Mr. DeSoto," an unfamiliar voice said, "You had us all kind of worried for a while there."

Roy waited for his blurry vision to resolve itself, "Where…?" he began to ask.

"You're at High Peak General Hospital, and I'm Dr. Richard Evans." The doctor supplied. "Now, can you remember what day it is?"

The next few minutes were taken up with standard questions to assess Roy's level of awareness. Roy patiently answered, knowing their significance, but he also figured that since he knew what the questions were going to be, that he didn't have any real cause for concern.

"Well Mr. DeSoto, you have a pretty nasty concussion, although there don't look to be any lasting effects. We'll be keeping you in for a couple of days as a precautionary measure. Do you remember anything at all about how it happened?"

Despite already knowing the answer to his question, Roy searched his memory for even a glimmer of the accident that had brought him here, but there was nothing. The last thing he remembered was still reading the map with Johnny in the forest. "Johnny," he wasn't aware that he'd said the name aloud until the Doctor reacted. "He's my partner," Roy explained. "We're both paramedics for the LA County Fire Department. "Is he all right? Was he hurt too?"

"As far as I'm aware you were brought in alone," Dr. Evans answered, but seeing the concerned expression on Roy's face he added, "I'll get one of the nurses to find out for you and come and let you know. Meanwhile I need to go and sort out a room for you. Try to get some rest."

Roy gave a slight nod and settled back into the pillows but sleep was the last thing on his mind. There was no way that Johnny would let him be brought to the hospital alone if he was around, so what had happened to him?

--

Johnny awoke with a start, breathing deeply he tried to erase the last frightening image of his nightmare. Tussot stood over his partner the gun aimed at his head, and Johnny had been forced to watch in horror as he pulled the trigger, the sharp report echoing off the rock had been what had startled him awake, it had been so real. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest, the pain from his arm stabbing out in syncopated rhythm. 'It's not real' he told himself over and over but a niggling voice grew louder with each repeat. 'It might be,' 'they could have gone back when they left you.' He pushed the suggestion down, refusing to give up hope.

Eventually his breathing settled, but he knew that it was far from normal, maybe he should revise his injury list to include a couple of broken ribs, rather than just bruising. He was finding it difficult to draw in full deep breaths, the pain danced across the left side of his chest when he tried. He looked around, it was almost dark, fairly soon there would only be the light of the quarter moon and the millions of tiny stars, which in other circumstances he would find beautiful, but here and now it only signified the fact that he was stuck here at least until dawn. If they were looking for him, they would call off the search until they had daylight.

His survival instincts took over, he grabbed up the remains of the parachute to use as a sheet and moved so that his legs were tucked behind the bush, to minimize the chance of rolling off the ledge while he slept. It took a lot of effort to wrap the 'chute around him, but he needed whatever protection it could afford, he was already feeling the cold, so he forced himself to continue despite the fact that each movement brought with it a new sharp reminder of his injuries. Finally he lay, exhausted once again, and allowed himself to relax. His thoughts drifted once more to his partner and he said a silent prayer that Roy was all right.

--

Julie knocked gently on the door to Roy's room before pushing it open, if he was awake she didn't want to startle him, if he was asleep, she didn't really want to wake him. She entered with her partner and as she did so Roy opened his eyes

"Hey Julie," he said, smiling up at her. "Tim," he turned his smile to the other Ranger

"Roy," she smiled back, "Good, to see you awake."

Roy's expression turned more serious, "Any news on Johnny?" The anxiety that accompanied the question was clear in his tone.

Julie's smile also disappeared. "None, we searched the trail, back from where we found you all the way to the Lodge and on to the first checkpoint, and as much of the surrounding countryside as we could manage before it went dark." She paused for a moment. "It just doesn't make sense. If he went to get help for you and got into difficulties then we should have found him. I can't think of any reason why he wouldn't be somewhere on that trail."

"Have you remembered anything that might be able to help us?" Tim asked.

Roy shook his head. "The last conversation I can remember having with him is when we discussed the possibility of having to make a climb before the first checkpoint."

"Tell me which of the two of you is the better climber?" The disembodied voice echoed in Roy's head. "What?" he asked looking around confused, trying to figure out who the other speaker was, and then, like someone flicking a switch, the whole memory was there. "Oh God," Roy said softly.

"What is it?" Julie asked concerned.

Roy looked up at them. "They had guns, the people who took Johnny, the people who hit me had guns."

--

Johnny woke up shivering, that was a good sign, if he was still shivering then that meant that his body was still doing it's best to combat the cold. He gently rolled on to his left side, keeping his arm tight against his chest, he knew that he needed to rest on the injured side so that the lung on his uninjured side could draw in more air. Another good sign he could still remember his training. He drew up his legs as far as he could stand, to try to minimize his surface area, and then he tried to block out the pain so that he could drift back to sleep. Everything would be all right in the morning, if he could just get some sleep.

--

Roy stared up at the ceiling, he had given his statement, once to the Park Rangers and once to the Sheriff's Deputies, and both had promised to do all they could to find his partner, but he knew that they could already be too late. The people who had taken him had guns and they seemed to have no qualms about what injuries they caused, his own throbbing headache attested to that. The blow could have easily killed him.

Julie had tried to be reassuring, pointing out that gunshots could be heard over great distances out in the open of the park, and no one had reported hearing anything like a gunshot in that area, but that had proven to be of little comfort, there were many other ways injuries could be caused, and the fact that Johnny hadn't been found and hadn't made his own way back to the Lodge, attested to the fact that he was probably injured, or worse.

It was fairly certain that he wasn't still in the company of his three abductors since they had returned to the Lodge, packed their bags and left, before Roy had even been found. There was an APB out on both them and the car but they had around an eight hour head start.

That left Johnny out there somewhere, overnight. Roy's thoughts turned to one of the mini lectures Julie had given on their first day.

"One of the biggest killers can be hypothermia, even thought the weather here is quite mild for most of the year, the temperature drop at night can be quite marked, especially at the higher elevations. In good health most people can survive with only minor symptoms if they are stuck out overnight with no protection, but if the person is injured then the situation can become serious quickly. Injuries such as broken limbs reduce drastically the bodies ability to cope with the cold, so a climber who breaks a leg, is in just as much danger from the cold as he is from any other sort of complication."

Roy turned toward the window, clear skies and a strong wind heralded a cold night. He punched the bed next to him in frustration. "Where are you?" he whispered.

--

Johnny woke up as the first gray wisps of dawn rose over the horizon, he was no longer shivering, in fact if anything he was starting to feel a little warm. He decided that it must be warming up already and tried to pull the makeshift sheet away, but his efforts had little effect. He couldn't feel the pain in his arm either. He tried to sit up but no part of his body seemed to want to cooperate. Lifting his right arm was like lifting a dead weight. Very slowly, laboriously, he pushed himself to a sitting position, leaning his back against the rock.

It was a beautiful view. He couldn't remember why he had climbed up here, but the view was fantastic, maybe that was why, funny that he couldn't remember. Why was it so hot? He tried to push the sheet off again, before his concentration was drawn to the edge of the golden disc that was just beginning to break the horizon, making the landscape explode in a kaleidoscope of colours, beautiful, truly beautiful.

--

Julie and the rest of the search team arrived at the staging point before dawn. They wanted to be ready to get moving as soon as they had enough light. She was surprised to see the taxi pull up and even more surprised when Roy DeSoto climbed out of it. She walked over to him. "I hope you're not thinking of trying to join in the search," she stated reproachfully. "You shouldn't even be out of the hospital."

Roy gave her a weak grin. "I know, I just couldn't lie there not knowing what was happening, I thought at least if I was here I could keep up with what's going on." He looked at her earnestly, "Please, I need to stay."

"OK, I'll find you a place near the radio, that way when we find him, you'll be one of the first to know about it."

Roy smiled in appreciation, "thanks."

--

The next two hours seemed to simultaneously crawl by at a snails pace and disappear in a flash. To Roy every minute of not knowing where his friend and partner was, or even if he was alive was an agony, and yet the lack of news left him with hope to cling to, and he was too afraid that the reality would not fulfill that hope to be disappointed when there was still nothing to report.

He was so used to the routine radio traffic by the time the call came in that if it hadn't been for the sudden tension in the radio operator's posture he was sure he would have missed it.

"Rescue 7, can you repeat that call."

"Yes Base, this is Rescue 7, we have found John Gage, he is inaccessible at this time, on a ledge about 50 feet down, just off the edge of Devil's point, stand by for exact grid reference, we are going to need climbers and a chopper to our location."

"Copy that, Rescue 7 standing by."

Roy's insides were busy tying themselves into knots, they hadn't given him the most important piece of information. He tried to form the words. "Is he alive?" The question came out barely above a whisper. The radio operator who was busy contacting the other teams clearly didn't hear it. Roy asked again a little louder. "Is he alive." Still there was no response. Roy couldn't contain himself any longer, couldn't form the correct sequence of actions that would follow protocol, instead he snatched up the microphone. "Rescue 7, this is Roy, Johnny's partner, is he. . .is he alive?"

There was a silent buzz of static, which seemed to go on forever. Roy drew in and held a deep breath.

"Affirmative, Base, we can see him moving around," the formal reply returned, then the tone changed, "Roy this is Tim, Julie's on her way down to him now, don't worry, we'll bring him back."

Letting out the deep breath that he had been holding, Roy almost collapsed back into the chair behind him as his knees gave out. The radio operator gently prised the microphone back out of his fingers and continued relaying information.

--

Julie landed on the opposite end of the ledge to Johnny, tying herself off, just in case, she moved over to him. "Johnny," she said as she knelt by him, "Johnny, it's me Julie, can you hear me?" She was not encouraged, by his lack of response, a touch of his icy skin confirmed her fears. She quickly checked for other injuries, beyond the obviously splinted broken arm.

"Tim," she spoke into her HT, "Looks like we got to him just in time, we need to get him out of here, fast."

--

Johnny woke up freezing, trying hard to figure out when it had gotten so cold. Whatever, he needed to do something about it. Forcing his eyelids open he was surprised to find that he already had a stack of blankets, tucked up tight around his neck, so much so that moving was difficult not to mention painful. With his growing awareness came a growing acknowledgement of multiple pains all over his body, from dull aches to. . ow! He decided that moving his left arm, in fact anything on his left side, was a bad idea. What had happened to. . and then the memories returned, the strange group, the guns, the climb. The last image of his partner lying injured on the ground, flashed into his consciousness. "Roy?!" the name left his lips almost subconsciously as he tried to remember if he knew what had happened to him.

"Hey junior, welcome back." Roy said, moving off his bed to stand where Johnny could see him without moving his head too much.

Despite the pain, Johnny tried to sit up, needing to get a good look at his partner to reassure himself that he was really all right. It was an emotion that Roy could sympathise with, he'd been watching his friend sleeping for the last hour, trying to gain just that reassurance for himself.

"Hey, don't dislodge those blankets," Roy admonished, "Your core temperature isn't back up to normal yet and until it is they stay there."

"You're all right," Johnny said, it was half statement, half question.

"Yes, mild concussion," Roy stated, grinning at the question, "and while your asking I'm a lot better off than you, apart from the hypothermia, you have an arm broken in two places and four cracked ribs, not to mention multiple bruising."

Johnny grinned, at least he'd managed his self diagnosis correctly. "Yeah, well next time I'm asked at gunpoint," he stated, "I'm going to tell them that you're the better climber."

"Next time?" Roy asked raising one eyebrow.

The end.


End file.
